Not applicable.
Not applicable,
The invention relates to rodent traps in general and to mousetraps which can sequentially capture alive a plurality of mice in particular.
Problems with rodents are at least as old as the discovery of agriculture. Rodents carry disease, consume and spoil grain and foodstuffs, and can damage buildings and their content. Various poisons are known to be effective in controlling pests, particularly rats and mice, however in many situations it is desirable to be sure that the rodents do not die in inaccessible portions of the building or dwelling, where decomposition can cause other unwanted problems.
Typically rodent poisons cause the animals to leave the building or dwelling in search of water, but in those situations where water is available within the building it is particularly desirable to use rodent control systems which capture rather than poison the undesirable vermin. Capturing the rodents allows the type and number of rodents present in the building or dwelling to be monitored, and so a number of traps may be used even in a situation where a majority of pest control is accomplished with poisoned halt.
Capturing vermin alive has advantages both in the simplicity of the trap and in avoiding the resultant mess which may result from the destruction of rodents daring their capture. Live capture is also desired by those who do not wish to kill but only remove undesirable vermin from their premises or dwelling. The basic design for live traps for various types of vermin is that of a box with a folding lid which can be accessed through a one-way door or mechanism that allows mice to enter the box but not to leave. One of the simplest and most reliable mechanisms for creating a one-way door, employs s centrally pivoted lever. A narrow tunnel is provided along one side of the box which forms the trap. As rodents are known to move along the walls of a room, and to be attracted to small opening or tunnels, the mice enter the tunnel formed along the side of the box and pass over the pivoting lever, crossing the axis and being discharged into an internal compartment.
After the mouse crosses the lever into the central volume of the box, the lever returns to its original position. A pivoting barrier is mounted to overlie the lever, such that any attempt by a rodent to remount the lever causes the pivoting barrier to be raised, blocking exit from the trap. Usually, a barrier is fixed above the pivoting barrier, to prevent the rodent from being able to get a grip on the pivoting barrier.
A typical rodent trap of the type designed to catch live mice may be able to trap as many as 30 mice which are held within the interior of the trap box. If the box is of the conventional type, opening the pivoting lid to dispose of the mice exposes the person who opens the box to a large number of rodents which may leave the box in a disorganized power. Plastic traps which have a sliding lid are known, but such a trap has only a single entrance to the trap. What is needed is a trap for catching a number of mice which has multiple entrances and which incorporates a lid or opening mechanism for the release of the mice which facilitates controlled release of the contents spaced from the operator who is opening the trap.
The rodent trap of this invention has a plastic base with a rodent runway which extends from two inlet openings to a single rodent containment compartment. Pivotable ramps are positioned in the rodent runway adjacent each inlet opening. A plastic lid is slidingly engaged with the base, and is movable along the axis of the rodent runway. The lid has downwardly extending tabs which have inclined inside and outside surfaces, and barriers extending between each pair of tabs. The inclined surfaces of the tabs engage inclined protrusions which project upwardly from the ramps when the lid is slid open and closed, the engagement between the inclined surfaces causes the ramps to pivot out of the way of the barriers, facilitating smooth and uninterrupted opening and closing of the lid on the base.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a rodent trap having multiple inlet openings and a lid which is slidable with respect to a base.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a rodent trap with a lid having barriers thereon which is easily removed without interference with pivotable ramps:
Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.